The top 10 beaches in Wales according to new Sunday Times list

A Pembrokeshire beach has been named the best in Wales on a list of the UK’s top beaches.

The wide and sandy Freshwater West has been a favourite of surfers for some time due to its strong rip currents.

Now it is one of ten Welsh beaches to feature on a Sunday Times list of the UK’s top 50 beaches.

Freshwater West, in south Pembrokeshire, is a sandy and rocky beach which is backed by sand dunes.

The wide, west-facing beach is renowned among surfers, who head to Freshwater West in search of the perfect wave.

It has formed the backdrop for a number of films, including Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows and Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood.

Porth Iago can be found along the Llyn Peninsula in north Wales.

An ancient hill fort overlooks the sandy beach, which is flanked by grassy headlands.

Penbryn in Ceredigion is managed by the National Trust.

The large sandy beach, which is backed by a dune system and cliffs, is a designated Dark Sky Discovery Site – making it a popular spot for stargazing.

There are a number of facilities, including a carpark and toilets, at the top of the lane near the beach.

Mwnt is considered to be one of the best places in Ceredigion to spot dolphins.

About 4.5 miles (7.2km) from Cardigan town centre, the sandy cove offers views across Cardigan Bay.

There’s a car park on top of the cliffs, with a small, stepped pathway down to the beach itself.

Manorbier beach in Pembrokeshire is a short trip from the nearby train station.

The sandy cove, which won a Green Coast Award in 2022, is backed by dunes, cliffs, and nearby woodland.

It has strong currents, making it a favourite spot for surfers.

Pendine Sands in Carmarthenshire is famous for its long, flat beach – the home of numerous land speed record attempts.

According to Visit Wales, the 7 mile (11km) sandy beach was used during World War Two to practise the D-Day landings.

Mewslade Bay in the Gower Peninsula was described by the Sunday Times as “arguably the most beautiful beach on the Gower”.

Its rocky sands offer plenty to explore, with the nearby Paviland Cave the site of the oldest ceremonial burial in Western Europe.

Oxwich Bay is one of the Gower Peninsula’s most popular beaches.

Visitors to the 2.5 mile (4km) beach can walk over to the nearby Tor Bay and Three Cliffs Bay.

Also known as Monknash, the beach at Cwm Nash in the Vale of Glamorgan is set against a backdrop of steep cliffs.

Numerous archaeological discoveries have been made at Cwm Nash over the years.

In 2019, the skeletal remains of at least six people, believed to have been shipwreck victims, were found at the beach.

Five years earlier, archaeologists discovered two human leg bones – thought to be hundreds of years old – inside the crumbling cliffs.